Having spent his entire career as a graphic designer, Ray considers himself an accidental author. As he recovered from treatments to overcome stage 4 esophageal cancer, he found himself isolated from his world of family, friends, and former colleagues. First, he reached out via email, the emails became reflective essays and vignettes about a difficult home life, his design career, and navigating the societal labyrinth, complicated by a maturing civil rights movement and the uproar of anti-Vietnam War protests. Butchies Blues is also about growing up in a small, predominantly white community, then relocating to Brooklyn, New York, and a radically different environment, his loves, and lasting friendships. After a time, some of his email readers, friends, and family urged him to write a book. He was reluctant until his wife, as a gift, treated him to a memoir writing workshop. This book is the culmination and distillation of six years of select remembrances of times passed.